Poll: Readers split on short-term rental issue

Those responding to an online Argus-Courier poll were nearly split in their opinion on whether or not the Petaluma City Council should allow short-term vacation rentals.|

Those responding to an online Argus-Courier poll were nearly split in their opinion on whether or not the Petaluma City Council should allow short-term vacation rentals.

Fifty-two percent said that the council shouldn’t allow short-term rentals because they create traffic and noise in neighborhoods not zoned for visitor lodgings. Forty-four percent said that short-term rentals encourage tourism, stimulate the economy and would be a benefit to the city’s tax revenue.

Here are some of the comments:

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“Absolutely they should be allowed. They give visitors a much nicer place to stay than a hotel/motel. We need to regulate them as other cities have done quite successfully.”

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“Air BnB are just another symptom of the ‘new economy’ like Uber that is entirely preditory, as municpalities try to find funds since we no longer tax the rich. We are out of things to hock!”

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“Fix the infrastructure, stop medaling in people’s business. There will be no place for government in the future.”

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“Hell no! If I wanted to live in a neighborhood where lots of strange, creepy people come and go at all hours of the night with no regard to the people around them, making all kinds of noise, doing who knows what, I would have moved to the Tenderloin!”

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“If there is parking, I don’t see why not. People need to make a little extra income to pay their taxes. I don’t see it as being a problem.”

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“I think these vacation rentals will change the nature of our wonderful Petaluma neighborhoods. If we allow them at all, there should be a limit to the density that are allowed in a block, a limit to something like 75 days stays per year as is being considered in San Francisco, and accommodation for the additional parking impact.”

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“We have enough shortage of affordable housing in Petaluma as it is. We don’t need more.”

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“Tell the city council to MYOB.”

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“Short-term rentals do not belong in residential neighborhoods.”

“It takes away the neighborhood feel and the rental market for long term is already impacted.”

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“Not only are they disruptive, they apply pressure and restrict availability in a rental market that’s already tight. There are plenty of other properties available for tourists in a variety of budgets. If short-term rentals are allowed, they should be taxed and regulated heavily.”

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